PENSACOLA, Fla. — Trailing by two with 12 seconds to go, Sali Kourouma worked her way through traffic in the lane and put up a potential game-tying shot, only to see it clang off the front of the rim. To add insult to injury, an off-balance Tina Stephens from Troy grabbed the rebound and threw it at Kourouma’s legs, the ball ricocheting off the sophomore legs and rolling out of bounds.
That gave Troy (24-7) the ball with less than 10 seconds to go. They would add one more to their tally as Little Rock (17-10) fouled for a last chance but Little Rock couldn’t grab the final rebound, falling in a heartbreaking 62-59 decision in the semifinals of the Sun Belt Tournament.
It was a gut-wrenching ending to Little Rock’s season, as they fought back from an eight-point deficit early in the fourth quarter and had a chance to tie the game in the final seconds. Kourouma led all scorers with a game-high 27 points, a herculean effort that included four 3-pointers while grabbing six rebounds.
Little Rock led throughout most of the first half, taking a 30-26 lead into the intermission, but couldn’t overcome another third-quarter cold streak. The Arkansas-based Trojans went over five minutes in the third period without a score but Troy struggled offensively as well, unable to push the lead into double digits.
That provided a dramatic fourth quarter as Little Rock’s defense — which forced 22 Troy turnovers — produced its usual late-game effects; Troy would miss eight of their last nine shot attempts over the final few minutes as Little Rock turned an eight-point deficit into a two-point margin over the course of four minutes. That 9-3 run, capped off by Raziya Potter’s traditional 3-point play off a driving layup, pulled Little Rock within striking distance and sent Troy’s stress levels as high as its turnover totals.
In the end, Little Rock was left with a 41-30 rebounding disadvantage despite posting double-digit offensive boards for the third consecutive game. Mayra Caicedo dished out eight assists as she moved into seventh all-time at Little Rock with 315 assists over her two years in a Little Rock uniform.
The vaunted Little Rock defense limited All-Sun Belt First Team selection Felmas Koranga to just four points. The Alabama-based Trojans were led by Jhileiya Dunlap’s 18 points, while Amber Leggett scored 13. Troy shot 44.4% (24-of-54) from the field in the game, while Little Rock connected on 37.5 % (24-of-64) of its shots.
The loss brings a close to not just the 2021-22 season for Little Rock but also its tenure in the Sun Belt Conference. Little Rock departs the Sun Belt as one of the conference’s most decorated team, having won the most Sun Belt regular season (15), tournament (7) and combined (22) championships between its men and women’s programs since the 2005-06 season, when the Jack Stephens Center opened. Little Rock head coach Joe Foley completes his
Sun Belt tenure as the conference’s all-time winningest head coach with 377 victories in his time guiding the Trojans.
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